Non Traditional WAMC/School List Feedback

[marobb]

Looking for all feedback on list or app! Looking to apply this cycle

28 Male (Caucasian) Non Trad
Colorado Resident

Undergrad (2018) 3.1 GPA
Post BAC with majority of BCPM Requirements: 4.0 GPA

Clinical: 4500 Hours as EMT in busy Trauma Center (IVs, EKG, Splinting, Strokes, MI's)

MCAT: 514 (130,128,129,127).

Research: Starting at Cardiometabolic Research Lab at Medical School as Student Assistant

Volunteering: Starting Volunteering at Clinic for underserved as EMT
Volunteered to teach EMT's in training didactic coursework and skills based scenario training

Leadership: Elected as the President of Local EMS Club (Education & Resources for EMTS) 2020-2021

Awards: Academic Achievement Award for Highest GPA at EMT School

Shadowing: 200 Hours ER Physicians
8 Hours IM Oncology

Able to speak medical spanish: self-taught

School List (List is based on OOS Matriculants) + 1 DO school​

1. University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
2. Creighton
3. George Washington
4. Dartmouth
5. Georgetown
6. Quinnipiac Medical School
7. Tufts
8. Tulane
9. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
10. Rush
11. Drexel
12. Vermont
13. TCU
14. Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
15. Emory
16. Wake Forest
17. Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
18. Western Michigan-Stryker
19. Albany Medical College
20. Saint Louis University School of Medicine
21. Penn State
22. Einstein
23. Temple
24. West Virginia University School of Medicine
25. Oakland Beaumont
26. Eastern Virginia
27. Hackensack
28. University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
29. Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
30. Medical College of Wisconsin
31. University of Wisconsin
32. Virginia Commonwealth
33. UCLA
34. NOVA MD
35. New York Medical College
36. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
37. Wayne State
38. University of Connecticut School of Medicine
39. University of Maryland
40. University of Utah School of Medicine
41. Stony Brook
42. UC San Diego
43. Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine

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[LunaOri]

Remove the state schools that admit few OOS students (they choose applicants with strong state ties or extraordinary accomplishments). You could add a few DO schools, but that’s up to you.

 

[AJS59]

Your app is solid but what specifically is your role as an EMT for an underserved clinic? Med schools are looking for non-clinical volunteering to show a desire to directly help others (and to broaden your interests outside of medicine). Consider doing some work at a soup kitchen, food pantry, transport services, shelter, etc.

Without substantive ties I would consider removing Utah/Wisconsin/West Virginia due to relatively low OOS numbers. Also remove Rush/Saint Louis/Georgetown - all will demand heavier service hours (on the order of several hundred-thousands).

 

[marobb]

Your app is solid but what specifically is your role as an EMT for an underserved clinic? Med schools are looking for non-clinical volunteering to show a desire to directly help others (and to broaden your interests outside of medicine). Consider doing some work at a soup kitchen, food pantry, transport services, shelter, etc.

Without substantive ties I would consider removing Utah/Wisconsin/West Virginia due to relatively low OOS numbers. Also remove Rush/Saint Louis/Georgetown - all will demand heavier service hours (on the order of several hundred-thousands).

At this point everything on this list is twenty percent or higher OOS matriculants in 2023. Is that too low a threshold? Also West Virginia was 55% and Wisconsin was 42% OOS in 2023 (MSAR) which seems good, is there something I don't know? My role is as more of a clinic manager then as a clinician of any sort. Good tip on Rush/SaintLouis/Georgetown!

 

[marobb]

Remove the state schools that admit few OOS students (they choose applicants with strong state ties or extraordinary accomplishments). You could add a few DO schools, but that’s up to you.

I am planning on adding a couple of Do's, just haven't done my due diligence in researching them yet. Am I in a place where I could just apply MD and stand a decent chance?

 

[AJS59]

At this point everything on this list is twenty percent or higher OOS matriculants in 2023. Is that too low a threshold? Also West Virginia was 55% and Wisconsin was 42% OOS in 2023 (MSAR) which seems good, is there something I don't know? My role is as more of a clinic manager then as a clinician of any sort. Good tip on Rush/SaintLouis/Georgetown!

I was looking over admit.org data (here: Medical School Statistics – Admit.org) and filtered for OOS; as you can see, the percentages for IIs and post-II A's at these schools are generally significantly lower for OOS than IS. I do stand corrected about Wisconsin and West Virginia (both schools appear to admit around 150 OOS) but Utah is still tough - only 53 OOS reported.

In general I think the way to tell is compare rates for IIs and acceptances between IS and OOS; if IS is significantly better, then it's not so OOS friendly. That being said of course there are some exceptions (ex. UVM - while 8% OOS get II's compared to 93% IS, Vermont is also a small state so this evens out things).

 

[marobb]

I was looking over admit.org data (here: Medical School Statistics – Admit.org) and filtered for OOS; as you can see, the percentages for IIs and post-II A's at these schools are generally significantly lower for OOS than IS. I do stand corrected about Wisconsin and West Virginia (both schools appear to admit around 150 OOS) but Utah is still tough - only 53 OOS reported.

In general I think the way to tell is compare rates for IIs and acceptances between IS and OOS; if IS is significantly better, then it's not so OOS friendly. That being said of course there are some exceptions (ex. UVM - while 8% OOS get II's compared to 93% IS, Vermont is also a small state so this evens out things).

For sure Utah is a gamble but they are very focused on rural care which I like but I accept a donation is highly likely. Vermont and Dartmouth are both big target schools for me because they seem to be friendly to Non-Trads so got to shoot my shot.

 

[VelmaBoots]

I was looking over admit.org data (here: Medical School Statistics – Admit.org) and filtered for OOS; as you can see, the percentages for IIs and post-II A's at these schools are generally significantly lower for OOS than IS. I do stand corrected about Wisconsin and West Virginia (both schools appear to admit around 150 OOS) but Utah is still tough - only 53 OOS reported.

In general I think the way to tell is compare rates for IIs and acceptances between IS and OOS; if IS is significantly better, then it's not so OOS friendly. That being said of course there are some exceptions (ex. UVM - while 8% OOS get II's compared to 93% IS, Vermont is also a small state so this evens out things).

WVUSoM (Morgantown) is MD and admits 112 students total per year with ~70% IS. Strong preference for IS or ties to the state for admits.

WVSOM (Lewisburg) is DO and seems to have a much larger incoming class size. Not sure what their instate bias is like.

 

[marobb]

I was looking over admit.org data (here: Medical School Statistics – Admit.org) and filtered for OOS; as you can see, the percentages for IIs and post-II A's at these schools are generally significantly lower for OOS than IS. I do stand corrected about Wisconsin and West Virginia (both schools appear to admit around 150 OOS) but Utah is still tough - only 53 OOS reported.

In general I think the way to tell is compare rates for IIs and acceptances between IS and OOS; if IS is significantly better, then it's not so OOS friendly. That being said of course there are some exceptions (ex. UVM - while 8% OOS get II's compared to 93% IS, Vermont is also a small state so this evens out things).

What about Loyola?

 

[AJS59]

What about Loyola?

Loyola is private so OOS doesn't matter but they really like commitment to non-clinical volunteering. You can give it a go if you want, just not sure if it's the best fit.

 

[marobb]

Loyola is private so OOS doesn't matter but they really like commitment to non-clinical volunteering. You can give it a go if you want, just not sure if it's the best fit.

Good tip. I have non clinical volunteering I wasn't listing because I figured clinical stuff was more important but now I can add that in!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Good tip. I have non clinical volunteering I wasn't listing because I figured clinical stuff was more important but now I can add that in!

List everything you would include on AMCAS with the detail we request:

*~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*

Hello, and welcome to the What Are My Chances (WAMC) forum. The purpose of this forum is to Post threads about your chances of acceptance to MD and/or DO schools Have your school list critiqued and modified by other members of SDN Determine how to strengthen your current application General...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[MD_Maker]

It's a little unclear to me how strong your application is given the lack of hours associated with your activities. Remember that non-trads are looked at quite differently. As an older applicant, you're expected to have fuller life experiences and many more opportunities to accrue hours than the average premed. All that being said, and if I fill in the gaps and imagine decent hours and additional activities not listed, I'd say you have a pretty strong application and you may not need to apply to so many safeties. It's ok to have some reaches, especially if you have a well-crafted narrative.

 

[marobb]

List everything you would include on AMCAS with the detail we request:

*~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*

Hello, and welcome to the What Are My Chances (WAMC) forum. The purpose of this forum is to Post threads about your chances of acceptance to MD and/or DO schools Have your school list critiqued and modified by other members of SDN Determine how to strengthen your current application General...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Thanks!

 

[marobb]

It's a little unclear to me how strong your application is given the lack of hours associated with your activities. Remember that non-trads are looked at quite differently. As an older applicant, you're expected to have fuller life experiences and many more opportunities to accrue hours than the average premed. All that being said, and if I fill in the gaps and imagine decent hours and additional activities not listed, I'd say you have a pretty strong application and you may not need to apply to so many safeties. It's ok to have some reaches, especially if you have a well-crafted narrative.

What are some examples of reaches for me to add?

 

[MD_Maker]

What are some examples of reaches for me to add?

Reaches are the one category of school you shouldn't need examples of. They are top schools that you would dream of going to. Where do you dream of going?

 

[marobb]

Reaches are the one category of school you shouldn't need examples of. They are top schools that you would dream of going to. Where do you dream of going?

My top choice schools are CU, Dartmouth, UCLA, Vermont, Georgetown, George Washington or UNLV but if I was being over the top reachy I'd add in Mt. Sinai and Stanford.

 

[AJS59]

My top choice schools are CU, Dartmouth, UCLA, Vermont, Georgetown, George Washington or UNLV but if I was being over the top reachy I'd add in Mt. Sinai and Stanford.

As a heads up UNLV may not be a "reasonable" top reach without ties to Nevada

 

[marobb]

As a heads up UNLV may not be a "reasonable" top reach without ties to Nevada

I agree, thats why its not on my list but Vegas is very cool and I like the program. I meet the expected requirements (MCAT) but I just jettisoned any school under 20% OOS acceptance rate off my list. My list is actually organized from most accepting of OOS to least.